Happy Birthday Linda and Starting To Get Ready

DeBary, Fl.

75 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun. High 94F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.


Nothing real exciting going on around here. Jim and Linda have been getting things together to take along on our Illinois trip. They've made some lists so they could remember what they need to take and have already started packing some things into boxes and bags. 

Saturday, was Linda's birthday, so at noon, they met Laura, Lindsey and Anna over at the Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch. Then, in the evening, they headed to Laura's where they had Cupcakes and ice cream. Marv, Inez, Ashley, Chris, Anna and of course Laura and Lindsey were there and it sounds like everyone had a good time. ;-) 

Linda blowing out candles on cupcakes

Yesterday, Jim took Lily and went to Walgreen's to pick up a few prescriptions and to the local Winn Dixie store where he bought some groceries to use on or trip up North. Today he wants to get outside early and get a few things done out there before it gets too hot. We're right in the middle of the hottest time of the year down here now and almost every day, the temps are in the mid-ninety's with rain showers/storms in the afternoon, causing lots of humidity.  :-( 

Jim seems to be feeling pretty well. For now, most of the side effects from the Opdivo seem to be gone, but he is still taking medicine to counter those effects. Hopefully by the time that medicine is gone, so will be the side effects. 

It's still not completely decided on just when we'll be leaving DeBary. If they get everything ready, we may leave here as early as Sunday. I think Linda is worried about how Jim will be feeling after traveling for 4 or 5 hours a day, and said yesterday, that she thought that adding an extra "rest" day to the trip would be good. 

Well, that's about it for now. I'm going to make a real effort to post more often, especially while we're traveling.  


Did you know that on this date in 1966 - The Monkees recorded their first single? The song was "The Last Train to Clarksville" and was later included on their self-titled debut album. 

Woof!!!

Catching Up Again

Rantoul, IL.

70 deg. fog, no wind.

Forecast = Foggy this morning, then partly cloudy this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 85F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.


It's been awhile since I've posted so I thought I'd try to catch up a little.

Monday, the 8th of August, (the day after we returned here from the reunion), both Linda and Jim had appointments with Dr. Anderson, their eye doctor. She's the Dr. who did Linda's cataracts a few years ago and also has been treating Jim's glaucoma.  Over the last few years, Linda had developed a "film" over her cataract implants that has gradually been getting worse and was starting to impair her vision. The right eye was the worst, so Dr. Anderson removed the film with a laser treatment right in her office.

Jim just needed an annual check-up to make sure his glaucoma was under control.

Linda's procedure went off without a hitch and Jim's check-up did also. An appointment was made for Linda to come back in a week, to make sure the eye was healing properly and for Jim to have a field of vision test and a complete eye exam, since he hadn't had one for a couple years.

So, yesterday, they went back, Linda's eye is doing well and Jim's eye exam showed no problems with the retinas or any other part of his eyes  :-)

In between appointments, Jim and Linda have gone out to eat a few times, gone grocery shopping at the Meijer's Store  down in Champaign, picked up a few items at the local Ace Hardware, went to Walgreen's to pick up a few prescriptions, and shopped for a few items at Rural King where Jim picked up a couple short sleeved shirts that they were closing out for the summer.

Other than that, it's just been day-to-day living here in Rantoul.

There's still a few more doctor appointments coming up and there's a planned visit to see Denny and Bev, (part of the "Illinois Bunch"), in about a week and, more plans for Dave and Dee Dee to come here to the CG early in September, Don't worry though, I'll be sure to keep you informed as those things happen. ;-)

Did you know that today is "Black Cat Appreciation Day"?

Woof!!!

The Roughest Week Yet and A Secret

DeBary FL.

69 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Windy with thunderstorms. High 77F. Winds ENE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.



The injection with the "on body injector", went off without a hitch and by about 7:15 Saturday evening, the little machine was beeping and beeping, letting Jim know that the injection of the Newlasta  drug was complete.

Sunday wasn't too bad, but by evening, Jim's bones and muscles were starting to ache so  he took a couple over-counter pain meds before he retired for the day. By 2:00 AM he was up taking more which didn't really have any effect.

He struggled through the day on Sunday, and before heading to bed took a prescription pain medication that the Chemo Dr. ,(Dr. Saferali), had prescribed for him when he started the chemo therapy,  It helped and Jim slept pretty much throughout the night and well into the morning. (This med also makes you sleepy).

And, so it went, with Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Lots of pain during the day, even with over-the-counter medications and restless sleep under the influence of prescription drugs at night. :-(  Jim was able to sleep some during the days, (probably from the lasting effects of the night medication), so he was able get some rest.

But during these days, Jim was not able to do anything. It hurt to walk, sit, or do just about anything else he could think of and when yesterday, (Friday) rolled around, he was very happy to realize that his pain was no longer near as bad. :-)  It's a good thing too because he needed to go back to see Dr. Saferali to get a blood test and have a "visit" (as they call it), with her.

Dr. Saferali looked at the results of the blood test and was satisfied that although all the counts were not in the the normal range, was sure they were moving in the right direction and thought that within another week, should be getting back to normal. :-)

So, now starts the recovery and then the "dreaded" PET Scan on the 26th and "nerve wrenching" Doctor's visit with Dr. Graham on the 27th of April to get the results of the scan.

Oh, one other thing!!!! Dr. Saferali asked Jim and Linda what their travel plans were for this summer and was wondering when they were thinking about heading North!! (She's well aware of our travels ever since treating Linda back in 2013).  Jim told her that he din't have any definite plans and she said that as far as she was concerned, it was all dependent on how Jim felt and how fast he could recover!!! :-)

Now, don't tell Jim I leaked this information, but Jim told Dr. Saferali that if it was at all possible, he and Linda were looking at the 13th of June as our departure date to head North for the summer!!!! ( The rent for the lot over at Paradise Lakes RV Park comes due on the 13th).  Well, she said that unless the PET Scan showed something that she didn't expect to show up, she didn't see why that date shouldn't be possible. She really expects Jim to be recovered enough to do what is necessary with the trailer by that time!!!! ;-)

Now, remember!!!!!! Don't tell Jim I told you this!!!! He doesn't want anyone to get their hopes up too high yet!!!!


Did you know on this in 1900 - The first book of postage stamps was issued? The two-cent stamps were available in books of 12, 24 and 48 stamps.


Woof!!!

Continuing To Improve

DeBary, FL.

67 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Scattered clouds with the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm developing this afternoon. High 83F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%


Not a whole lot to report. Jim's breathing seems to be improving as time passes and so far, he hasn't had any serious side effects from the chemo treatments.

He continues to go for radiation treatments every morning, (Monday through Friday) and to chemo treatments, every Monday, after the radiation treatment. He's now about 1/2 way through the radiation treatments and is looking forward to not getting up every morning and having to be over there by 8:45.

The other day, Jim and Linda took Big RED and headed over to Paradise Lakes RV Park to check on Nora. When they returned, they said that everything looked good and that she was nice and dry with no leaks, even though we've had some serious rain storms lately. There was also some talk about putting Nora in storage to save some $$. There is a possibility that they may be able to leave her "on site" and still save quite a bit, but not quite as much as moving her to the storage area.

They'll be heading over to the Park and talk to Kelly to see just what their options are, sometime before the 13th when the current lot rent runs out.

Yesterday, Lila took Jim and Linda to Walgreen's to pick up some prescriptions and other necessities and then in the evening, over to Gram's Kitchen for dinner. Linda had a chef's salad and Jim had the Country Fried Steak. Both of them said that their meals were excellent. :-)

No big plans for the near future. The radiation treatments every morning kind of limit what can be done each day.


A Quote to Ponder : “The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.”
William James

Woof!!!

Time To Head South

Rantoul, IL.

48 deg. clear, S. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Sunny. High around 80F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.


As you can see in the photos below, fall is definitely arriving here in Rantoul.

The crops are being harvested out of the fields and the nights are getting downright chilly. The grass is starting to turn brown and all of the songbirds have long ago headed to warmer climates.

All clues to indicate that we should also head to warmer areas of the country. ;-)

So, the last few days have been spent getting ready to do just that. There have been trips to Walgreen's, the grocery store, as well as a lot of reorganizing of "stuff" in the basement and other storage areas of Nora. Of course, Big RED wasn't left out either, Jim also went through much of the "stuff" in his bed as well as any other storage areas inside the cab.

Meanwhile, Linda has been repacking cabinets and storage areas inside of Nora as well as making sure the freezer and refrigerator are ready for travel.

Tomorrow morning, (Monday), we'll be leaving Rantoul and heading over to Indianapolis to see Linda's cousin, Mike and his wife, Sandy. Then, from there, we'll head farther East, going first to Virginia Beach, VA and then to Apex, NC before heading down to Florida for the winter, with the expected time of arrival in Fl. about the 15th of November.

We've had a great summer here in Rantoul, and will miss Paul and Louise and all the folks who regularly stay here or stop by.  But, if everything goes well, we'll be back again next year. :-)

A Quote to Ponder : “To those who can dream there is no such place as faraway. "  author unknown.

Woof!!!

Rockin' And Rollin'

Rantoul, IL.

68 deg. light rain, SW wind @ 10 mph.

Forecast = Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then partly cloudy during the afternoon hours. High 77F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.


The eye doctor's appointments yesterday morning went well. Linda got the injection and Jim got the scan. It took awhile though as the doctor's office was backed up. ;-(   By the time they left the doctor's office it was getting close to lunch time, so they stopped at the Urbana Gardens Restaurant in Urbana to eat before coming back here to the park.

Being that it rained in the morning, the humidity was very high yesterday. That, along with a high temp of around 87 made things down right uncomfortable. Then, around 8:00 PM a thunderstorm came through the area and we started Rockin' and Rollin'!!!!

I don't know for sure how strong the wind gusts were, but it sure made Nora move around a lot, and things got pretty scary for a little while!!!! That's one thing that I liked about the big Motor Homes we used to have, (Myrddin and Emrys), they didn't move around much at all in a storm.

We're OK though, and I don't think that there was any damage in the park. Just a few very small branches down.

This morning, Linda has to go to her primary care doctor over in Fisher, IL for her annual check-up and to get new prescriptions for her meds. She'll also be getting a blood test, so she won't be able to eat anything before she and Jim go. That means that they'll be stopping at the Blue Star Restaurant when they leave the doctor's office. ;-)

The weather guessers are saying that we should have very nice weather for the rest of this week. They're saying that it shouldn't rain or even be very humid until Sunday. I hope their forecasts are right as that will give Jim and Linda decent weather to get some shopping done and get everything ready to travel next Monday.


A Point to Ponder : A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.

Woof!!!

Final Plans Made To See Roland And Louise Before Rally

Moncure, NC

deg.
Forecast =

As most of you know, we're heading to an RV-Dreams Reunion Rally in Marion, NC. But, before we go there, we've been planning on stopping  by Roland and Louise's place in Forest City, NC. Well, yesterday Jim called Roland and final plans were made to head there on Monday and stay until Friday morning, when we'll head up to the Rally, which is just a little North of Roland and Louise's house.

Jim and Linda are excited about seeing Roland and Louise again. They only got to see them a little this past winter, down in Florida, so are looking forward to spending some quality time with them now.

The past days have been spent just doing normal things during the days and then going to Mike and Gina's in the evenings. There have been a few evenings when they've had other things to do, and it sounds like Saturday is all tied up for them, but we're hoping that Sunday, they can either come out here again or we can spend some time with them at their house.

Yesterday, Jim and Linda took Big RED and went to a Target Store and purchased some items for an embroidery project that Linda has planned. Today, they need to head up to Pittsboro to go to a Walgreen's to get a couple prescriptions refilled and then to a grocery store to buy a few items that they're out of. Then, this evening they'll go to Mike's for dinner and more visiting.

Did you know that today is "National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day?"

Yum!! Yum!!

Woof!!!

Thank You, Moving "Stuff" To The Trailer and One More Appointment

DeBary, FL.

69 deg. partly cloudy, E. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Partly cloudy early. Thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 86F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.

First of all, Linda wants to thank all of you that commented, called or contacted her since I posted about the results of her PET Scan. It really does mean a lot to her to know that so many of you were thinking and/or praying for her.

Thank You!!!!

Friday, the follow-up exam at the surgeon's office at the Halifax Medical Center went off without a hitch. It takes around 45 minutes to get over there, so the drive took longer than the exam did, By noon, Big RED was backing into the carport. :-)

After grabbing a bite to eat, Linda and Jim started gathering things up to take over to the trailer. Then, yesterday morning, they took a lot of food, clothes and supplies over there and stashed them away. Then, on the way back here to the house, they stopped by Walgreen's and picked up their prescriptions that Linda had called in the day before.

There's still quite a bit of "stuff" to take over there and other "stuff" to pack into the back of Big RED and there are plans to take more of it this morning. From what I can gather from Jim and Linda's conversations, it sounds like they're planning on moving out to the RV Park and staying in Nora, for a night or two before we actually leave the area. During those couple days, they can determine if they've forgotten to take anything and will be coming back here to get the house ready for the time we're away.

Monday morning (tomorrow), Linda has that appointment with her retinologist. She's hoping that she doesn't need another injection, but if she does, there'll be time for her to recover before we leave. (Most of the time, she gets a pretty severe aching sensation in her eye after the injection that lasts for a day or two).

So, hopefully by Wednesday or Thursday we'll be able to leave. My paws are really starting to itch, so it's time we get going!!! .-)

Did you know that on this date in 1877 - A catcher's mask was used in a baseball game for the first time by James Alexander Tyng?

Woof!!!

Another Good Report and Linda Goes Grocery Shopping

DeBary, FL.

56 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 78F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

About 10:30 Thursday morning, Big RED took Linda and Jim over to Orange City for Linda's doctor appointment with Dr. Saferali, (the Chemo Doctor). Except for having to wait a long time to get to see her, the appointment went well and the Dr. said that Linda seemed to be progressing nicely with her recovery from the treatments. :-) Of course she wants to see Linda again before we leave the area in April, so another appointment was made.

Then, since it was after 12:00 by the time they left the Dr's office, they headed over to the 4 B's Restaurant here in DeBary, where Linda had breakfast for lunch and Jim had the meatloaf dinner special. Both very good!!!

I don't think I mentioned it, but the 6th of April Linda will be getting one of those PET Scans. All 3 doctors want to see the results of that, before we leave for our summer travels.

I think the first part of April is going to be very, very, busy around here!!!!! :-(

As mentioned in an earlier post, Linda has been wanting to go grocery shopping for some time now. The shopping lists have always been long and Jim has discouraged her from going at those times. Well, yesterday the list was quite a bit shorter, so after going to Walgreen' to drop off prescriptions, they headed to Winn Dixie.

Linda used her walker and everything went well. By the time they finished, Linda was pretty tired, but she didn't have any dizzy spells. :-)

This was a big milestone for Linda. She hadn't been grocery shopping for almost a year!! I'm sure in the near future, she'll be getting even more of her stamina back and will be able to go when there are more items on the shopping list. ;-)

So,  , ,  ,  ,  that ends the doctor's appointments for awhile. So far, nothing but good news!!! :-)  I imagine that the first part of April will be a busy, stressful time though. :-(

Did you know that The word Noel derives from the French expression "les bonnes nouvelles" or "the good news"?

Woof!!!

Some Shopping & Other Stuff, The Weather and So Much To Be Thankful For

DeBary, FL.

54 deg. overcast, light rain. NW wind @ 22 mph.
Forecast = Showers early, then partly cloudy for the afternoon. High 61F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Except for the weather, it's been pretty quiet around here. Jim and Linda did some Christmas shopping the other day, Got some prescriptions refilled another day, went out to eat at Bob Evens one evening and then, I think it was on Monday, Jim went over to Highbanks and brought some more "stuff" from Nora, back here to the house.

Then, yesterday, the skies opened up and it started raining  and raining and raining!!!! Now, I don't mean light rain, or even rain showers. It started raining and it rained hard for almost the whole day and most of the night!!! There's reports of 4 to over 7 inches of rain in central Florida. By the reports, we had almost 5 inches of rain right here in DeBary!!!

Needless to say, there is flooding in many parts of the area and now this morning, there's a cold front coming though, The temperature has already fallen from the mid eighties with little to no wind to the low 50's with 20+ mph winds and they're talking about the low 40's tonight!!

Today, Jim has a few more errands to run and he wants to go over to Highbanks to check on Nora. Tomorrow, Jim and Linda have again been invited to Marv and Inez's in DeLand for Thanksgiving dinner. (Marv and Inez are Lindsey's parents), I'm sure Inez will have a huge dinner again with all the "fixins'". :-)  It sure is great of them to invite Jim and Linda every year. :-)

I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving. I think most of us have a lot to be thankful for! I know that I'm very thankful for all the doctors who treated Linda this past year and to all the people who called, stopped by, e-mailed, commented, or in any way sent their thoughts and prayers Linda's way. It was a rough year, but Linda is doing much better and  we're expecting more good news from the tests that she'll be having next month.

Thank You So Much!

So, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!! Hope all of you have a great day!!!!

Did you know that the first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days?

Woof!!!

A Shopping Trip and An Appointment For Jim

Rantoul, IL.

64 deg. partly cloudy, light fog.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with widespread heavy fog. Highs around 81°F. North northeast wind to 6 MPH.

Not a whole lot happening here in Rantoul. Yesterday, Big RED took Jim and Linda over to Walgreen's. Jim has Linda's "Mobility Chair"

"file photo"

 in the back of Big RED so they used that, so that Linda could go inside and buy some new make-up to replenish her current supply, some other items that they both needed and a new prescription from the doctor's visit last Wednesday.

Linda doesn't use the chair much anymore, but in this case, it was too far to walk without getting dizzy and needing a place to sit down, so it was easier.

After returning and resting up a bit, Jim fired up the grill and cooked a couple of small steaks while Linda cooked an ear of sweetcorn for herself and some peas for Jim. (Linda doesn't like peas). :-(

That steak sure smelled good!!!! ;-)

 The evening was spent watching the TV, reading and using the computer.

Today, Jim has an appointment at 1:00 with his eye doctor to have his glaucoma checked. Her office is on the South side of Champaign, so they'll have to allow somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 of an hour to get there on time.

This is one of the appointments that was missed last fall when Linda was diagnosed with cancer and we rushed down to Florida. Dr. Anderson was good enough to renew the prescription for the eye drops over the phone though, so Jim has been able continue to use them every day.

Did you know that on this date in  1952 - Satchel Paige, at age 46, became the oldest pitcher to complete a major league baseball game?

Woof!!!

Happy Easter and Catching Up

DeBary, FL.

61 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 15 mph.
Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 76F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.

Wednesday morning, Jim and Linda loaded some things into the back of Big RED and headed first to Walgreen's to drop off a couple prescriptions and then over to the travel trailer at Highbanks. Jim helped Linda with figuring out where would be the best place to put some of the items inside of the TT and then worked on getting things organized in the limited basement storage area.

They're both having trouble readjusting to the idea that we'll no longer be living in an RV for long periods of time and only need to equip the trailer for "extended vacations".

Oh, don't worry, the plan is still to head North for anywhere from 4 to 6 months during the summers, but they really won't need to take as much along, now that we have a house.

Thursday, Jim went back and picked up the prescriptions as well as some other necessities from Walgreen's and then went across the street to Winn Dixie and bought a whole bunch of groceries. It had been awhile since the last real grocery shopping trip and they also had quite a few items that Jim and Linda regularly use on sale. Then, in the afternoon, he and Linda went back over to the trailer with a few if the items that were bought earlier and did some more organizing.

Friday, Jim wasn't feeling very well so about the only thing that he and Linda did was to wash a couple loads of laundry. Then in the evening, Laura stopped by to chat for awhile. :-) Oh, sometime during the afternoon, Louise called and asked if it would be OK if she and Roland came for a visit on Saturday. Of course both Jim and Linda said that they'd love to see them, but it was not to be. :-(

Saturday morning Louise called back and told Jim that she wasn't feeling well at all that they would have to cancel their visit. She said that they'll try to visit sometime soon as they'll be heading up to their home in North Carolina pretty soon.

Being that Roland and Louise couldn't make it, Jim called Lindsey and asked him if he and Laura would like to go over to Highbanks and see the trailer. He said that they would so about 10:30, Jim and Linda met them over there and gave them the "tour".

After they left, Jim and Linda made the bed and did a little more organizing before coming back here to the house.

Today, Jim and Linda are invited to an Easter Dinner over at Marv and Inez/s, (Lindsey's parents), so Linda baked a cake to take along. Laura won't be able to go because she has to work today, but Lindsey will be there along with some of his brothers and their families.

Did you know that the name Easter owes its origin from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess who symbolizes hare and egg?

Woof!!!

 

 

Where Are They?????

DeBary, FL

43 deg. clear, W. wind @ 3 mph.

Forecast = Sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 62F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph.

Yesterday morning, Jim and Linda took Big RED and headed over to the hospital for Linda's radiation treatment. In about an hour they were back here getting a bite to eat. I knew something was in the works because they were doing a lot of talking and planning. I didn't think too much more about it because nothing seemed to come of their conversation as they were just sitting around, watching TV and reading. 

Then, all of a sudden, (About 3:00), they talked some more, got up from their chairs, went out and got into Big RED and drove away!! Now, I didn't think too much about it, but 5:00 came around, then 6:00, and then 7:00, and they still weren't back!!!! 

Now, I'm starting to get worried and am beginning to think something is wrong!!! 

Did they get into an accident or something????

Did they have trouble with Big RED????

Did one of them get sick????

Are they in the Hospital, injured or sick???????????????

Well,  ,  ,  ,  ,  about 7:15 I heard Big RED backing into the driveway and shortly afterwords, they came in the back door. They seemed OK. Big RED sounded normal when he backed in, neither one of them had any bandages or anything to lead me to believe that they had an accident, but they were carrying an envelope that had the words, "LaMesa RV" on it!!!!!!! 

Well, I knew it was coming, but I really didn't think it would come this soon. But, they got a good price, made what they think is a good deal and Traded off Bobbie T for a brand new Heartland North Trail Travel Trailer!!!!!! 

Yep!!!! You read that right!!!! A new travel trailer!!!! It's a North Trail NT 26 LRSS, it has one large slide that holds the couch and dinette, it has a rear living area and a front bedroom with the kitchen and bath in the center.

I don't know when they'll be picking it up, probably not until the first part of next week.

Being that it was so late when they finished at the dealer's, they swung by the Steak N Shake and picked up a couple burgers to bring back here to the house. After they finished eating their sandwiches, they watched TV until bedtime.

Today, Linda will be going to another radiation treatment and she and Jim will need to stop by Walgreen's to pick up a couple prescriptions and a few other items, but I don't know of much else happening.

Did you know that today is Manatee Appreciation Day?

Woof!!!

Linda's New Wheels

DeBary, FL.

64 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Cloudy. High 74F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.

Friday, after Linda's radiation therapy treatment, Jim and Linda stopped by a place called Aging Tree in Orange City. Jim had done some inquiring and had found out that they have all kinds of walkers, wheel chairs and motorized scooters for people who need them to get around. Linda didn't go in, but when Jim came back out, he was pushing a walker that he had purchased for her.

Since Linda's favorite color is blue, he said it was a "no brainer" to select this one. ;-)

You see, with Linda having those dizzy spells, Jim was real worried that she might lose her balance and fall. (And that wouldn't be good at all!!)

It's really nice, it has a neat paint job,

a nice seat to sit on if she gets dizzy or tired,

storage under the seat,       "Ooof"

and dual hand brakes that she can use to slow down if she gets going to fast or, lock on so the walker doesn't move as she's sitting down or getting up.

At first, Linda didn't know if she liked the idea of a walker or not, but since she has used it some, she realizes that it's much safer, plus it does give here somewhere to sit, no matter where she is, if she gets one of those dizzy spells. :-)

Yesterday, Linda had another radiation treatment. Everything went well and after the treatmJent, Big RED took her and Jim over to Bob Evans for a mid-day, 2-day-late, anniversary  dinner. They originally had planned to go to the Perkins Restaurant right down the street, but being that it was right at noon, the place was packed. :-(

Anyway, they had a nice anniversary dinner. ;-)

After they left Bob Evans, they swung by Walgreen's and picked up Linda's prescriptions, (that Jim had dropped off on Friday), before coming back here to the house. Then, around 4:00 or so, Laura stopped by for awhile, just to see how Linda was doing and to chat for awhile.

Oh!! Just one more thing. I'd like to welcome my newest follower and very good friend, Louise Combs, to this blog. She and Paul are the managers of the Prairie Pines Campground that we stay at when we're up in Rantoul Illinois during the summers. If you get up that way this summer, tell Louise that Blaine says "Hi"!!

Did you know that the walker most patients use today as a mobility device was patented in the 1940s by Andrejs Muiza, a Russian immigrant?

Woof!!!

Prescriptions, A Hat For Linda and Ashley Saves The Day

DeBary, FL.

59 deg. overcast, NE wind @2 mph.
Forecast = Sun and clouds mixed. High 71F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday morning, Linda was pretty sore from the surgery, so Jim headed to Walgreen's to get Linda's regular prescriptions refilled and pick up a few other items. He would have had to wait for at least an hour for them to have the prescriptions ready, so he told them he'd come back later.

One of the things he found while roaming around in Walgreen's, was a turbine type head covering that the ladies wear after they've washed their hair. Jim though it may make a nice head covering for Linda after she lost her hair, so he bought her one.

From Walgreen's, he headed over to Winn Dixie, (which is just across the street), and picked up some essentials before coming back here to the house.

When he got back here to the house, he showed Linda the head covering, and she was thrilled to death!!! :-) She thought it was just great, and said that she thought she'd wear it a lot.  

After lunch, Jim went back to Walgreen's and picked up most of the prescriptions. I say "most" because again, they didn't have enough of one of the meds, so now today, (Monday), he'll need to go back again! :-(

By Saturday evening, Linda was feeling better and she asked Jim what he thought about going out to eat someplace? She was also thinking about Ashley coming Sunday morning to shave her head, and said that she'd like to go out to eat before that happened.

So, about 4:30 they took CLT and headed over to Gram's Kitchen and had their Prime Rib Special!!! Both of them were still talking about how good the steak was when they returned and it made my mouth water as Linda was wrapping up the leftovers to put into the fridge and freezer! .-)

Sunday morning, (about 11:00), Ashley came over took care of Linda's hair. By this time, the hair was starting to come out by the handful so Linda was glad that she had made plans to get it removed. Ashley was very caring but yet  professional and in just a short time, it was done.

After finishing, Ashley stayed and talked for awhile and then headed to one of her friends house for lunch.

Linda wants to thank Ashley so much for the way she handled the whole thing. Because of the way she went about it, she kept it from being the traumatic experience that Linda was dreading.

Thank you so much, Ashley!!!!!!!

A Point to Ponder :  Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often.

Getting Shot While At Walgreen's

DeBary, FL.

72 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain in the afternoon. Fog early. High of 93F. Winds less than 5 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

Not much happening the last few days. Both Linda and Jim have been trying to stay busy so they watched quite a bit of football on TV Sunday and then went to Walgreen's yesterday to get prescriptions refilled and get shot.

No, No!!!! Nothing bad, they got their flu shots for the upcoming flu season. :-)

While they were at Walgreen's, they picked up some other needed items before coming back here to the house. They were busy at the pharmacy and would have had to wait quite awhile, so sometime today, they'll go back and pick the prescriptions up.

For dinner, Linda called the local Chinese Restaurant, (the Lotus Garden), and ordered a carry-out meal. The restaurant is only about a mile from here and both Jim and Linda say the food is good.

This afternoon, Linda and Laura will be heading over to the doctor's office in Daytona Beach to get all the details about what Linda can and can't do before her surgery next Monday. They'll also get instructions and information about where to go and what will be happing that day.

While they're doing that, Jim has some things he wants to try to get done around here. We'll see how that goes though, the forecast is for a pretty hot afternoon, (90 + degrees), with possible T-storms.

Did you know that on this date in 1939, the first televised pro football game was telecast from New York?  Brooklyn defeated Philadelphia 23-14.

Woof!!!

Getting Ready and The Exam

DeBary, FL.

70 deg. overcast, NW breeze @ 2 mph.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with a chance of rain in the afternoon. High of 90F. Winds from the ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20%.

After 12:00 AM on Monday, Linda wasn't allowed to eat any solid food and then at 9:00 AM she had to drink a couple bottles of some liquid that was prescribed by the doctor which caused her to spend the rest of the day in the bathroom. :-(   Laura came by and spent most of the day with her and helped her get things like Jello, clear broth, and apple juice to eat/drink. Being that Linda is diabetic, this nourishment had to be balanced out with the correct amount of insulin so that her blood sugar didn't go too high or too low.

While this was going on inside of the house, Jim was out in the shop/shed taking down old pegboard. After removing the old stuff, he headed over to Home Depot and bought some new pegboard to put back up. From Home Depot, he went to Harbor Freight and bought a bunch of pegboard hooks, then went to Ron's Hardware and bought some screws to fasten the pegboard to the wall of the shed.

On the way to Ron's, he drove through the Orange City RV Park, where we used to stay for the winters until they raised their prices 3 or 4 years ago. As he was driving through the park, he saw Joe, (who was the maintenance man at Orange City RV Resort for years), and stopped and talked to him for awhile.

Joe's health is failing. He has severe heart problems, (2 open heart surgeries already), and just lately, he's  developed kidney problems. He's in good spirits though and Jim said that it seemed like he really enjoyed talking to him for awhile.

On the way back here, Jim went to the 4 B's Restaurant here in DeBary. They're only open for breakfast and lunch, so Jim and Linda can't go there for dinner, which is a shame because their food is really good.

From the 4 B's, Jim came back here and proceeded to install the new pegboard on the shop wall and hang up some of the tools etc. that he wants up there.

Yesterday was Linda's appointment to have the "Exam under anesthesia" preformed at Halifax in Daytona Beach. She was directed to be there at noon with the exam to be preformed around 1:30, so around 11:15 Laura swung by and picked up Linda and Jim and took them over there.

After some "prepping" and answering a whole bunch of questions, Linda was taken to the "Holding" room where she waited until the doctor was finished with another patient.

Everything went will with the exam. The doctor came into the waiting room and talked to Jim and Laura after the procedure and told them that as far as he could tell, the tumor was contained within the female organs and was cautiously optimistic that a hysterectomy would solve the problem. Of course, there will be more biopsies taken at the time of surgery and that will tell the whole story.

So,  ,  ,  ,  Linda is doing fine. She's sore from the exam, but that's to be expected. Next Tuesday, she'll go to the doctors office for some more pre-op stuff and then will have surgery on the 28th of October.

Again, Linda and Jim want to thank everyone for the thoughts and prayers sent this way. They are of great help and very much appreciated.

Thank You!!!!!!

Did you know that on this date in 1928 - Marvin Pipkin received a patent for the frosted electric light bulb?

Woof!!!

More On The Slide Out Brake and More Storms

Rantoul, IL.

70 deg. partly cloudy, S. wind @ 10 mph.
Forecast = high temp. 86 deg. 60% chance of T-storms, SW wind @ 15 to 20 mph.

Jim did check that slideout motor yesterday morning, but the news is not good. After removing the panel in the top of the storage compartment, he discovered that the end of the electric motor, where the brake is located, is stuck back in an area that is between the top of the compartment and the slideout floor.

The suggestion that Jim received on line was to work the brake lever on the motor back and forth a few times to free it up if it was stuck. Well, Jim was able to just touch the brake release lever with his fingers and there was no way that he could have pressed the spring lock while releasing the lever, much less move the lever. : (

So, Jim put the panel back on and came back inside.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we could head up to the Elkhart, IN. area after the 4th of July, so now Jim will research the possibility of getting the problems solved up there.

We had heavy afternoon T-storms go through this area again yesterday. Lots of rain, quite a bit of wind, and severe lightning!! In fact, after one very close lightning strike, our power went out for a short time. Since it was storming, Jim and Linda didn't go back to Walgreens to pick up the rest of Linda's prescriptions. Hopefully they'll be able to get over there today, but the local radar is already showing lots of pretty colors, so they'll have to time the trip between storms.

Did you know that today is "National Canoe Day"?

Woof!!!

The Weather Puts A Brake On Solving The Brake Problem

Rantoul, IL

76 deg. clear, S. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast = High temp. 91 deg. partly cloudy, 30% chance of rain, SW wind @ 15 to 20 mph.

Because of off and on showers, Jim didn't tackle the slideout brake problem yesterday. Instead, he did some work on the computer and took Linda over to Walgreen's so that she could get her prescriptions refilled and then went to the Post Office to pick up the mail.

Everything went smooth at Walgreens, but of course, they didn't have enough of one of her prescriptions, so they'll have to go back again, either this afternoon or tomorrow. : (

For dinner, Jim cooked part of a ham steak out on the grill to make sandwiches. While he was out there cooking, it started clouding up to the West and soon after he and Linda were done eating, we had quite a storm go through this area.

Don't know the exact figures, but there were reports of winds over 60 mph. and we had some heavy rain! The wind was strong enough that Jim brought in Bobbie T's bedroom slideout because the slideout awning was flapping so violently that it was shaking the whole RV. There's some small branches down here in the park, but I haven't seen or heard of any major damage in the area.

Oh, and this morning on TV, they're forecasting more of the same this afternoon!!!! : (

Today, Jim's hoping to get out there and check out that slideout brake. He and Linda also need to do some shopping which will mean a trip down to Champaign.

A Point to Ponder : The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

Two Windy Days

Rantoul. IL.

65 deg. Mostly cloudy, SW wind @ 12 mph.
Forecast = Today: Mostly cloudy with showers likely. Highs around 75°F. Southwest wind 9 to 15 MPH, gusting to 19 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 70%.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows around 55°F. West southwest wind to 13 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 70%.

Not a whole lot been happening around here except it's been real windy. (I'm talking 15 to 20 mph winds with 30 mph gusts). You long time readers know how Jim dislikes strong wind, so you won't be surprised when I tell you that he's hardly gone outside a all the last 2 days.

Yesterday, however, he and Linda did take CLT and head over to Walgreen's to get a prescription refilled and then went to the post office to mail some cards.

Oh, and Monday, Linda did a couple loads of laundry over at the bath house / laundry building and Jim did help carry clothes back and forth from there.

Other than that, both Jim and Linda have been doing things inside, like making tentative plans for possible trips in July and even next year, reading, cleaning the inside of Bobbie T, and doing sudoku puzzles.

Today, it's not supposed to be so windy, but they're forecasting a 70% chance of rain, ( in fact it has started to rain now), so we'll have to see what happens.

If anything exciting happens, you'll be the first to know. ; )

Did you know that on this date in 1841 - Henry Kennedy received a patent for the first reclining chair?

Woof!!!